Advantages and disadvantages of arithmetic mean

Advantages

• It is rigidly defined. 
• It is easy to calculate and simple to follow. 
• It is based on all the observations. 
• It is determined for almost every kind of data. 
• It is finite and not indefinite. 
• It is readily put to algebraic treatment. 
• It is least affected by fluctuations of sampling. 

Disadvantages

• The arithmetic mean is highly affected by extreme values. 
• It cannot average the ratios and percentages properly. 
• It is not an appropriate average for highly skewed distributions. 
• It cannot be computed accurately if any item is missing. 
• The mean sometimes does not coincide with any of the observed value.